Tennis’s great disruptor speaks on his highs and lows on Centre Court and the BBC’s ‘very strange’ decision to leave him out of the commentary box
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imbledon runs through Nick Kyrgios’s tumultuous career with a mysterious force full of pain, glory and controversy. It is a tournament defined by history and restraint but, for Kyrgios the disruptor, it is also a place pitted with dark despair and sunlit magic.
The Australian has spent a night in a psychiatric ward while playing at Wimbledon and also been served with court orders and lawsuits during and after the 2022 championship that ended in him pushing Novak Djokovic so hard in a memorable final. But he has since struggled with injury and he will miss his third successive Wimbledon this year.
He still can’t keep away. Kyrgios returns for a live performance of his podcast, Good Trouble, at the New Wimbledon Theatre on 24 June. But he pauses when asked what this strange and beautiful place means to him: “Wimbledon holds special memories for me. It’s the first grand slam where I broke through and it’s the pinnacle of tennis. Every time you step into the grounds you feel the energy and the aura. But I don’t always feel so comfortable there either because I don’t act like the normal tennis player. Wimbledon takes note of that a lot. I definitely feel like a snowman in the desert there but I enjoy it.”
